Fallout
by Abbott
Summary: The loyalty of a friend and the decisions of a mad man, change the lives of the Potters forever. Nine years ago, Harry Potter went missing and now the Potter's are thrown into turmoil, when he returns


**The loyalty of a friend and the hesitations of a mad man, change the lives of the Potters forever. Nine years ago, Harry Potter went missing and now he's reunited with his family. **

**One thing I have to mention time line wise is that everyone who was born on and before 1960 is three years older, meaning that all the Marauders and Lily were born in 1957 instead of 1960 and that Dumbledore was born in 1878 instead of 1881. **

**Harry and Ron and everyone else born after 1960 have the same birthdays. **

**{****F}A}L}L}O}U}T}**

_August 15th 1990 Ministry of Magic_

The first thing James saw when he arrived at the ministry was Remus' worried face. Remus was a worrier and so James had not taken his reaction too seriously but before he could even ask his old friend why he had been summoned to the Ministry, he'd been shuffled off to the Minister for Magic's office, which to his surprise was filled with an array of people.

Lily, his wife was there but so was Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, the thief Mundungus Fletcher, a man James didn't recognise wearing the very distinct robes of a Healer and sitting nervously behind his large oak desk was one Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic.

"What's going on?" James asked as he moved to sit besides his wife

"That's exactly what I would like to know!" Lily snapped, glaring at the gathered crowd. Mundungus flinched and lowered himself into his chair and Cornelius nervously cleared his throat

"Perhaps Albus should be the one to tell you" Cornelius breathed out

James and Lily looked to their old Headmaster, who's blue eyes had surprisingly lost their sparkle at that very moment.

Albus frowned and took his time speaking as if what he would next say held such a great importance that he had to get his words just right.

"You've been asked here today, for a matter that has just come to our attention, thanks to Mundungus' efforts" Dumbledore carefully said and James could see Mundungus stoop in his seat and he felt his stomach tightened

"What matter?" Lily asked, her emerald green eyes flicking from one person to the next, the next words flooded the entire room with tension thick enough to cut with a knife

"Harry Potter" Dumbledore said clearly and James' heart squeezed painfully as his chest agonisingly constricted

Lily's angry voice filled his ears "What in Merlin's name are you talking about?" she asked and James held onto her hand in support, Harry was a not a name mentioned often

Harry James Potter, his youngest son had been murdered by Voldemort when he was a year old, Voldemort had perished alongside Harry, forever denying James his vengeance

Dumbledore gave a soft sigh "As difficult as it might be to comprehend" Dumbledore said "Harry has been found alive and well"

The words took but a moment to sink in as James' mind whirled a mile a second and his chest painfully squeezed.

It couldn't be.

It just wasn't possible.

Harry, his baby boy had died saving the world, he'd accepted that years ago after years of searching came up with nothing time and time again, he'd stopped believing that his youngest could have survived an encounter with Voldemort and had accepted his failure as a father

"It's not possible" James said, although he wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or to the occupants in the room

"_Harry has been found alive and well" _

How he'd dreamed of hearing those very word time and time again and now, he could barely understand them

The Healer in the room stepped forward "Mr and Mrs Potter" the man said "I took a sample of Harry's blood and did an identification spell with the blood samples the ministry had from the two of you and it was a perfect match but even without that spell, one look at the boy and you'll have no doubt of his parentage"

The Healers words were meant to be soothing but they just confused James as his mind screamed at him

Harry was alive?

He didn't want to believe for fear that it was all some sick joke, his heart couldn't take anymore loss, and believing that his son, was even for a moment alive only to find out that he was still dead would crush him.

"How did this happen?"

James turned to see Lily, his strong beautiful wife, compose herself as he broke down and struggled to think, let alone find his voice.

"Mundungus found him" Dumbledore informed them "a week ago" he darkly added

Furious emerald green eyes and darkened hazel ones zeroed in on the thief, who seemed to quiver in his seat.

"Now Dumbledore" Fletcher fretted "I couldn't be sure of the boys identity, I had to make sure before I brought such news" he defended himself

James finally found his voice "Where is he?"

It was Minister Fudge who answered him "With Auror Black"

"Sirius!" James and Lily simultaneously yelled.

Sirius Black had been James' best friend since they were eleven and he'd been just as effected as the Potters at Harry's apparent death, surely Sirius would have told them about Harry the moment he heard

"Sirius" Dumbledore said "Was on duty when Mundungus came in with his story about two hours ago and he all but demanded he go and has since refused to leave Harry's side"

Lily's grip on his fingers tightened "How is any of this possible?" she asked, you couldn't tell by looking at her but James knew his wife was close to tears.

Mundungus was half hidden behind Dumbledores robes when he spoke "I just found him" he shrugged, "I was minding my own business" that was code for stealing "in London, near that Muggle Palace and there he was" Mundungus' brown eyes were wide "He just appeared in front of me and with one look, I was sure it was him"

"Where's he been all this time?" Lily asked

Fudge spoke up "He won't say" he huffed

"Well where is he now?" Lily snapped

"Right here in the Ministry" Fudge answered

"Here!" James and Lily simultaneously said.

James fought the trembling of his body as drew in a breath

"Where?" He demanded, jumping to his feat just a second before Lily, who was shaking next to him

"Follow me" Dumbledore sighed as he led the distraught parents from Fudge's office to his private quarters next door.

With a firm grip on Lily hand James pushed open the door and immediately heard Sirius' voice

"What did I say about cheating" Sirius' laugh was far brighter then James had heard it in months.

A moment later and James saw Sirius seated at a large table with a pile of cards in front of him and opposite him, with his back to them, sitting cross legged on top of the table was a boy with the messiest raven black hair James had ever seen.

"But I didn't cheat" the voice was bright and filled James with so many emotions that he could no longer keep them in check.

He took a trembling step forward, dragging Lily who could barely walk with him

Sirius saw them first, his grey eyes wide and sparkling and then picking up on Sirius' reaction, the boy turned around.

Emerald green eyes

That was all James had to see and he immediately knew deep within his heart that _his_ Harry, his little boy, was still alive.

How? At that moment in time, he didn't care. He'd imagined, dreamed of this very moment for nine years.

Harry stepped off of the table and looked right at them, with the widest smile James had ever seen. Instead of seeing the confusion and fear James had imagined, Harry's emerald green eyes were darkly sparkling.

Lily trembled as James took a shaky step forward and came to a stop in front of their son.

Harry stood completely at ease, with one hand in his jeans pocket as he lifted the other "Hello, I'm Harry" he smiled

For the next few moments nothing happened

James felt all his strength leave him, as his grip on Lily's hand slackened and his eyes watered

Harry's smile slightly dimmed and it was then that with a soft cry Lily threw her arms around Harry and fell to her knees as she pulled him in to an embrace and burst into tears.

James could no longer keep it all in and dropped to his knees, throwing his arms around both his wife and son, as the tears he'd been fighting back, escaped.

"Merlin" he breathed, as he peppered Harry's face with kisses, on his cheek, his forehead and anywhere that Lily wasn't smothering, his trembling hands touched Harry's dark locks, not daring to believe the solid form in front of his eyes.

And then it happened

Harry who'd remained surprisingly calm at their reactions, wrapped his arms around both his parents

"It's okay" he whispered, "Everything's going to be okay"

**{F}A}L}L}O}U}T}**

"You must have so many questions" James whispered unable to take his eyes off of Harry.

They were seated at the table, Harry between he and Lily, who kept pushing the hair away from his head, they'd both seen the jagged scar on Harry's forehead but their were far more pressing things to speak of now.

Everyone else including Sirius had left the room, to give them a vestige of privacy.

"Not really" Harry shrugged, completely at ease

James and Lily shared a worried look over Harry's head.

"Well" started Lily, nervously looking at James to take over, as she held Harry tighter.

"Do you know who we are?" James asked, it felt like their was an elastic band over his major organs that squeezed every time he spoke, making it very difficult to breath

"You're my mum and dad" Harry broadly smiled and James could have sworn his heart stopped beating "Atleast that's what Sirius said" Harry nervously added

"We are" James breathed, his smile so big it could split his face in two.

Lily leaned down and kissed Harry's mop of dark hair "what else did Sirius tell you?" she asked

"Not much" Harry shrugged "He said you would explain it all"

For a child that had been supposedly dead for 9 years, Harry was a little too calm for this sort of situation but just from looking at him, James could tell that he was well fed and well dressed and seemed like a child who'd never faced a day of struggle

But what did it all mean?

"Harry" Lily began with a watery smile, unable to say another word as she looked into his emerald green eyes, out of all her children, only Harry had inherited her eyes.

"Harry" James took over, placing his hand on his young sons shoulder "Do you know about magic?" his voice was calm but his nerves were shot to pieces

Suddenly and without any warning, the table they were seated at hovered a good few feet in the air.

"That sort of magic" Harry smirked, crossing his arms.

James' eyes were the size of saucers as he connected with Lily's terrified gaze, wandless magic was something no wizard or witch could just do, it took years of practice and dedication and even then it really wasn't worth it as the drain was too much too keep it up for long.

"I can make it go higher" Harry smiled

"No!" James and Lily yelled and Harry's smile dampened a little

"What we mean is" James began but was promptly lost for words.

"H..how..how are you doing that?" Lily asked instead

Harry shrugged and for the first time since they met, James saw a flash of nerves in his brilliant green eyes.

"Its very impressive Harry" James smiled, ruffling his dark locks and he was rewarded with a small smile that made his heart soar, Lily's own smile was hard to contain as she looked at her youngest son and her husband

"Do you know what happened to you, Harry?" she asked, her arms already tightly wrapped around him, tried to do the impossible and hold him tighter.

"Not really" Harry shrugged

Lily shared a deep look with James and then began to tell the tale of that treacherous night nine years ago.

It had started in 1981, right after Harry's first birthday. Dumbledore had told them and the Longbottoms about a prophecy, one that marked either Neville or Harry as the one who would rid the world of Voldemort.

Both families went into hiding with a secret keeper, the Potters chose their dear friend Peter Pettigrew as theirs. They were a young family back then, with three boys. Their eldest had only been six at the time, Troy and then their came Garrett, their second child who'd only been three at the time.

It was Halloween when it all happened and Voldemort turned up at Godrics Hollow. Sirius had gone to check on Peter and found their poor friend, all but dead, tortured to the point of madness because he refused to give up their location, in the end It'd been ripped out of his mind by that monster.

Sirius managed to alert the Order who arrived only moments after Voldemort himself and that's when the Death Eaters descended, Lily and James had run out to the front of the house, the only way in because of the warding and joined the battle.

To this day, they still weren't sure how it had happen. One moment Voldemort was duelling Dumbledore and then the next he'd apparated past their blood wards and straight into Harry's bed room, and in a single heartbeat, their entire house was blown to pieces.

Troy and Garrett had been found frightened but unharmed but there was not a single trace of Harry or Voldemort, everyone had deduced their deaths, but still the Potters searched up and down the country for years, until Tom Riddle's remains had been found, all the way in southern Wales.

With proof of Voldemorts death, Harry's chances of still being alive had died that day and for the sake of their family, James and Lily had decided to stop searching and move on.

"We're so sorry, we didn't keep searching" Lily was in tears again

Harry looked at both his parents, a crease forming between his brows "I have brothers?" he asked, his green eyes, wide and excited

James released the breath he'd been holding in and let out a chuckle. This was all crazy, it was unbelievable and strange but it was also a complete and utter miracle. He had his son back and he would forever be grateful.

**{F}A}L}L}O}U}T}**

"St Mungo's?" James asked, he'd left Harry and Lily for just a moment to let everyone know they were leaving. "Why do we need to go to St Mungo's hospital?" he asked, his worry rising by the second

It was Mundungus who surprisingly spoke up "The boy's not normal" he grunted and then cowered behind Dumbledore when James and Sirius glared at him.

Sirius sighed and looked at James "Tell me you've seen it?" he asked

Now James was really confused "Saw what?" he worriedly asked

Sirius' grey eyes showed a spark of disbelief "The wandless magic" Sirius said very slowly, as if talking to a two year old.

"Oh" James replied

"Oh!" Sirius yelled back, looking at him as if he was a complete idiot "don't you think that that's a little strange"

It was James' turn to look stupidly at his friend "Sirius, this whole situation is strange!"

For a second nothing happened and then Sirius sheepishly shrugged, taking a step back.

The Healer, whose name James still did not know, stepped forward.

"Mr Potter, wandless magic is exceptionally dangerous for a grown witch or wizard, no one has any idea what sort of lifestyle Harry has lived or how he can even do magic, the best thing to do is getting him fully checked out at St Mungo's"

James was dumbstruck, wandless magic wasn't that uncommon in children "All this because he can levitate a table?" he asked, exasperatedly running his hand through his hair

All eyes at once turned to Mundungus

"Well" the thief chuckled, as Dumbledore stepped out of the way. "The boy" he cleared his throat "Harry, he can do far more then levitate things- you should be proud" he added as an afterthought

"Like what?" James asked confused

Mundungus pursed his lips and looked at his companions for help, when it became obvious none would arrive, he laughed nervously and said "everything! Apparate, summon things, transfigure stuff, the boys the ultimate thief, he can get in and out of homes without so much as a squeak and he can do this amazing freezing thing, where everything and everyone around him-" Mundungus abruptly cut off at James' furious gaze

In but a moment- he was on fire, James' wand pointed straight at him. "You used my son" James furiously spat at him, as the short wizard writhed and rolled on the floor.

Dumbledore cautiously lifted the curse and Mundungus, who was no fool, ran off as quickly as he could.

And so a few minutes later James found himself in a room at St Mungo's with Harry and Lily, who still hadn't released her iron like grip from his poor son.

Healer Nork, James had finally learnt his name, entered the room with a chart. "Hello Harry" he smiled, giving Lily and James a small nod

"Hello" Harry beamed at him. That was still a surprise to James, how Harry seemed perfectly content in other peoples company, in_ his_ company. They'd gently questioned him earlier about his life, but when it came to his past, Harry merely shrugged and changed the subject. James and Lily had chosen not to push him, when he was ready, Harry would tell them everything.

"I'm Healer Nork, do you know what a Healer is?" He asked, bending down to Harry's height

"The name makes it kind of obvious" Harry smirked

Nork heartily laughed as he straightened up "aren't you a clever boy" he ruffled Harry's hair "Now Harry, I just need to do a few tests and then you can go home with your mum and dad" he smiled "can you jump up on the bed for me?" he asked

Harry looked from James to Lily, before nodding his head, relinquishing his mothers hand and getting on the hospital bed

"Now can you lie back for me?" Nork asked "That's a good boy" he said as he brought some large machines closer to the bed and then began to use numerous spells up and down Harry's body, the machines went absolutely crazy, shaking and beeping.

Harry wildly looked around, getting more nervous by the second

"Are you looking forward to going home, Harry?" Nork asked, hoping he could distract the boy, from all the machines

"I have brothers" Harry excitedly blurted out, his eyes going to Lily and James, who smiled encouragingly at him.

"Oh, I have those" Nork smiled, never faltering with his spell work. "How many do you have?"

"Two!" Harry beamed, a wide smile on his face "There called Troy and Garret, at least I think they are?" He frowned

"Yes" Lily jumped in as James tried to keep his emotions in check "Troy is fifteen and Garret is twelve"

"Oh" Nork smirked "Older brothers, they're the best kind of brothers"

"Really?" Harry smiled as his emerald green eyes lit up.

One of the machines made a cracking sound and Nork finished off his spells. "You can sit up now Harry" he said as he put some intricate spells on the machine. "Now, Harry" grinned "I hear you're very good at magic"

Harry lips slowly curved upwards "Yep" he popped the p

Nork took a step back, so he was stood by James and Lily "If I ask you to do just a number of things for me, using your magic, will you try and do them?" he grinned

Nothing was said for a moment, and then Harry confidently nodded his head.

"Good man" Nork smiled, rummaging through his pockets, until he pulled out a Galleon coin. "Harry if you can take this coin, without using your hands, then you-" Nork abruptly stopped speaking as the Galleon disappeared from his palm

"Looking for this?" Harry cheekily smiled, holding the Galleon up for them all to see

Nork gave Lily and James a dumbstruck look before he quickly masked it "That was very impressive, Harry, you can keep the Galleon"

"Thank you" Harry smiled, "It's a very pretty rock" he grinned.

A rock? Didn't Harry realise that the Galleon was worth something? And then it hit him, Harry could do magic but perhaps he'd never experienced the magical world? But how was that possible?

James tightened his grip on Lily's hand as Nork resumed with the test. "Now Harry, do you think you can apparate to the windows"

Harry gave them a confused look "what does apparate mean?" he asked

"It means you can appear and disappear from one place to another" the moment Healer Nork had finished his sentence, Harry disappeared.

James' heart stopped beating, his eyes frantically scanned the room as his mind came up with a thousand scenarios, each one scarier then the one before it and then he felt a tug on his shirt.

Harry had a gentle grip on the bottom of his shirt and James felt like he could breath again "I'm right here" Harry grinned and those words held far more meaning to James, then his ten year son could ever understand.

On and on the test went, as Harry preformed an array of difficult magic, he certainly shouldn't have been able to do at his age. It didn't matter how much a child studied or how magically gifted they were, there was always a limit based on their age and maturity. It just wasn't physically possible for a child of ten to do such intense magic.

"Thank you, Harry" Healer Nork tensely smiled "Now, if you look in that cupboard, I'm sure you'll be able to find some toys to play with"

Harry raised a brow, before simply shrugging and going off to find the toys.

Healer Nork went back to the machine he'd been using earlier and with a wave of his wand, it produced numerous sheets of parchment, with various charts and drawings on them. "Perhaps its best, we sit down" Nork said, his face far paler then just a moment ago.

"This is quite complex" Nork said quietly so that Harry wouldn't overhear them.

He spread out the parchments so that both Lily and James could see them, although neither had any idea what they meant. "I must say right off the bat, that I have never in my twenty years as a Healer, ever, seen anything like this" Nork's eyes were filled with an equal mix of excitement and fear.

"The reason, Harry can use magic so simply is extraordinary" Nork cryptically said

"Can you just get to the point!" Lily snapped, her face clearly conveying her fear "what's wrong with Harry?" she demanded

Healer Nork frowned and inclined his head, his gaze flickering from Lily to James and then back again "okay" he began "as you are aware, all magical beings have what is known as a cord" he pointed to one of the parchments. "the cord is like a heartbeat, it stores and pumps all of the magic in the being throughout their entire body" here he pointed at a chart on another parchment "as the magical being grows, so does the cord, it develops allowing it to hold and use more complex magic, all cords stabilise when a child turns seventeen, allowing them complete control of their magic" he placed another parchment in front of them "a child of Harry's age should have an under developed cord, he physically shouldn't be able to do the type of magic he's displaced, it's like a first year, doing fifth year spell work, it can't be done"

"So what makes Harry so different?" James asked, his arms wrapped around Lily's shoulder as she leaned on him.

"Look at this right here" Nork said, pointing to a parchment "this" he pointed at a bunch of numbers "Is Harry's cord, do you see how different the numbers are, how at times their so high and at others their so low?" he asked "the only possible explanation is that Harry's cord is cracked" Nork exhaled "he's leaking magic by the bucket load and it's filling every part of his body, from his blood vessels to his eyes and I must say that cracked cords are nearly unheard of and since they can't replenish the magic the cord has lost, most people usually die from the stress on their bodies"

"Die!" Lily nearly yelled before remembering that Harry was only a few feet away

Nork gravely nodded "Can you imagine a heart with no blood, that's like a cord with no magic. People do not have a never ending supply of magic, the body needs time to replenish the magic it loses and so normally, a persons like Harry would have died years ago"

"Then why hasn't he?" James darkly asked, his stomach twisting and turning as his eyes found his son, Harry was occupied with a flying dragon, completely unaware of the discussion going on.

"That's the interesting part" Nork exclaimed, pointing at another parchment, with numerous high numbers "Harry has another cord" he seriously said "but, technically it's not his" Nork shook his head "You can see from the numbers that this cord is fully developed and stable and almost limitless with its quantity of magic" His eyes sparkled as he examined the parchment, oblivious to the horror struck parents sitting across from him "Magic is very difficult to use, we use wands because they're able to draw our magic out of our cord to one point in the body and at a very steady pace but Harry's magic works completely different, this other cord is practically fused with Harry's, pouring its magic into him, filling his cord up completely, so that it doesn't run out of magic but his system was never meant for two cords, it has too much magic and is trying to find the best way to expel it" Nork sighed

James and Lily shared a worried look

"So, what your saying" Lily began, trying to make sense of it all "is that, Harry's body is like a box filled with water and right now his lid is cracked, meaning that the water is leaking and normally once all the water is finished and the box is empty, Harry should have died...but Harry has another supply of water, continuously filling the box, so that even with the crack it so far hasn't emptied?" she asked, her brow raised a little

"Precisely" Nork beamed, although he quickly masked his features at the sight of the distraught parents

"Where did Harry get this other cord?" James asked, "You said his system was never meant for two cords?" James repeated the words he heard earlier.

Nork gave them a hesitant look "Cords don't just appear" he hesitantly said "and you can't just take a cord from one wizard and give it to another" he said "there's so many things that come in to play, age especially, the one that receives the cord has to be young, really young, around a year old".

"So around when Harry was with us-" James began and like a lightning bolt- it hit him.

"Voldemort" he snapped, a burning anger, so raw and hot consumed him that he began to shake

"Yes" Nork agreed "The cord is extremely well developed, that it has to be a wizard of extreme power, the timing fits perfectly and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did die of magical shock"

"He didn't have any magic in his system" Lily exclaimed, remembering when Voldemort's remains were found.

"We couldn't figure it out back then" Nork shook his head "but this makes perfect sense, whatever happened that night, it caused He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's magical cord to untangle and latch on to the only other living thing in that room- Harry, the pressure of an extra cord must have caused Harrry's own cord to crack. The fallout then caused the explosion at Godrics Hollow that night but in some way He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's magic must have saved your son" Nork summarised

"But what about Harry?" James asked "what are the long term effects for him?"

Nork warily looked them both "I don't actually know" he breathed

"What!" Lily snapped

Nork shrugged his shoulders "This has never happened before" he explained "so there are no tests, or previous cases to go off of"

James tried to keep his fear at bay "So what can you assume the effects might be?" he pleaded

Nork studied the parchments before him "There are only two things I can see" he said "One is that, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's cord is large enough to keep filling Harry's cord until it is able to stabilise itself when he turns seventeen, but that isn't a cure, he'll have to live with this for the rest of his life" he sighed "the other possibility is that either the second cord runs out of magic and Harry dies of shock or that Harry doesn't expel enough of the magic out his system, meaning that he still dies of shock" he frowned.

The room plunged into deathly silence as one word loudly echoed throughout it– _death._

Harry could die at any moment and there was nothing they could do about.

"My only advice is to get regular check ups and be very careful of what sort of magic you use on him, from potions to minor spells and observe their effects. Some could tip the balance of magic in his body and make him sick whilst others could actually help him" Nork concluded, although his words had no effect on the fearful parents.

**{F}A}L}L}O}U}T}**

"This" James grinned as Lily came through with Harry from the fireplace "Is Potter Manor".

Potter Manor was James' ancestral home, going as far back as to the times of Ignotus Peverell.

They were stood in the living room - a wide open space with comfy couches and chairs placed around a coffee table.

"It's alright" Harry shrugged. "Can I see my room now?" he grinned and the simple action, lifted a weight off of James' shoulders.

"We don't actually have a room ready for you" James sadly admitted "But" he quickly added "all the bedrooms are on the first floor, up the landing, pick any room you like"

Harry had run out of the room before James had even finished speaking.

"This is all-" James began

"Wonderful" Lily smiled, moving closer and wrapping her arms his neck. "Certainly strange" she smiled "but bloody wonderful" her lips ghosted over James' and then he deepened it, cradling her cheek with his hand and pushing his body against hers.

"Mum!" the cry pulled both adults apart. As Garrett came stomping down the stairs, dragging Harry who now had on a leather jacket that was far too big for him, down the stairs with him.

Garrett Potter, was the spitting image of his father, although his once messy hair was cut short at the sides and his glasses were square rimmed, in his efforts to look like his own person.

"I found this little thief, going through my drawers!" Garret snarled, shoving Harry in front of his parents "He says you let him in past the wards" Garrett frowned

"I'm not a thief" Harry stated

"Is that your jacket?" Garrett eyed the large leather jacket, Harry wore

"Well, its not yours either" Harry crossed his arms "I was only borrowing it because I found it on the floor, in the other room!" he smirked at Garrett

"Troy hates people taking his stuff" Garret snapped "He's going to kill you when he gets home"

"Enough!" James yelled "Nobody is going to kill anyone" he calmly told Harry, who'd become slightly nervous after the threat. "Garrett" James glared, putting both of his hands on Harry's shoulders "I'd like you to meet your brother, _Harry_" he put an emphasis on the name "Harry, say hello to Garret"

"Hello" Harry beamed

He received no reply as Garret stood opposite him, completely and utterly dumbstruck, his hazel eyes as wide as saucers and his jaw slack.

"What?" Garrett breathed, his gaze moving to all three members of his family "Is this is a joke?" he asked.

The room stayed silent, letting him slowly process all the information.

"Harry Potter?" Garrett questioned, "That little brother of mine that supposedly passed away nine years ago? Defeater of Voldemort?"

"Honey" Lily said, "It's quite late, why don't I get Harry ready for bed, whilst you try and explain everything to Garrett"

"Good idea" James nodded, worriedly staring at the green hue Garrett's face had taken on.

"Come on, Harry" Lily smiled, taking his hand and directing him towards the stair. "Have you picked a room, yet?" Lily asked

"That one" Harry pointed to the room that was next to Troy's but across the hallway from James and Lily's room.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked as they entered the spacious room, it was quite bare, with just a bed and a dresser and the bathroom was connected to Troy's room meaning that they would both have to share but it had a magnificent view of the grounds. "Troy plays the most horrendous music, very loudly" Lily warned

"I really like it" Harry smiled, looking around it.

"Then it's officially your room" Lily beamed, pulling him in for a hug. "How about we get you ready for bed" she said ruffling his hair. "A bath and maybe some food if your hungry"

"No, Sirius gave me all of his lunch" Harry happily said

"A bath it is then" Lily nodded "We'll have to go shopping tomorrow but for now, we'll just have to roll up some of Garrett's pyjamas."

She followed Harry into the connecting bathroom, who seemed surprised at her action. "I'm ten you know" Harry raised both eye brows "I don't need help taking a bath" he inclined his head

"Right!" Lily jumped "Of course not" she sheepishly chuckled "I'll just" she pointed towards the bedroom "Go get you some clothes and leave them out there" she awkwardly chuckled, exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

It was then that it really hit Lilly

Her son was ten

Her little Harry wasn't a baby anymore

But he was actually here, within touching and sniffing distance and he would remain with them for as long as he lived, he would now be a part of their lives, around for birthdays and Christmases and for lazy saturday mornings. That thought alone had such an emotional effect on Lily that she couldn't stop smiling for the rest of night.

**{F}A}L}L}O}U}T}**

Troy Potter was completely and utterly intoxicated, it was well past his curfew, when he jumped over the garden gate and then stumbled to the back door, that was connected to the kitchen.

He succeeded on not falling flat on his face when he'd finally managed to get the door open, he'd never meant to stay out so late but one shot of Firewhiskey had quickly turned into a bottle and then by the end of the night, his friend Teddy had to practically drag his body up the pathway, he couldn't come any closer without the wards alerting mum and dad.

Of course they'd most likely realised that he'd missed his ten o'clock curfew but there was no need for them to ever know just _how _late he'd been.

"Hello" the voice was small and impish and it fucking scared him half to death

With a cry of alarm, Troy turned to see a child, standing in the dark, wearing what appeared to be Garret's over sized pyjamas whilst holding a box of mashed potatoes.

_'How drunk am I?' _He thought

"Hello" the boy repeated

"Heeeeeello" Troy quietly repeated, taking in the messy dark hair and the blazing emerald green eyes

_'I'm never drinking again'_ Troy decided

"I'm Harry" the boy smiled

"Of course you are" Troy nodded his head, seeing your dead brother was not normal but then hallucinations were never a normal part of him being drunk, but he'd drunk far more then he'd ever had before.

"What's this?" the hallucination named Harry said, waving the box of mashed potatoes.

"Mashed potatoes" Troy inclined his head

"Are they nice?" he asked

"I guess" Troy shrugged

"How do you make them?" Harry asked

His dead brother wanted mashed potatoes? '_My hallucinations are fucked' _Troy deduced "How about I make them for you" Troy said, trying not to stumble as he took the box from Harry and grabbed a bowl

"You're not mean" Harry said behind him

"Why would you think I was mean?" Troy asked, as he started preparing the mash potatoes, trying to convince himself that this was all normal

"I wore your jacket earlier and Garrett said you'd kill me"

"Garret's a little swot" Troy smiled as he placed two bowls filled with mashed potatoes on the kitchen table, Harry took the seat across from him and begun eating.

"Does that mean I can keep the jacket then?" Harry asked, after he'd eaten a large portion of his food.

"Which one?" Troy took a mouthful of his mashed potatoes

"The leather one" Harry said

Troy loved the leather jacket, he'd rather cut off Garretts' wand arm then give it to anyone, but it wasn't like 'Harry' was real, he'd sleep off the hangover and forget all about his dead baby brother.

"Sure" Troy shrugged, it wasn't like Harry would be around in the morning to actually take his jacket.

**{****F}A}L}L}O}U}T}**

**That is the end of the first chapter, Hopefully I'll get a few reviews. Just a few things I needed to clear up**

**Voldemort never created his Horcruxes, so his first encounter with Harry meant it was also his last**

**This story is mainly about Harry connecting with the Potters, but why is the famous boy-who-lived so calm about everything and where has he been? You'll have to read the rest of this story to find out. **

**I love stories like this, so if you know of a few were Harry is reunited with the Potters or just an epic story where the Marauders and Lily are alive, then I would to know about them. **


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